File Name: Element of Harmony
by Twilit Feline
Summary: Seven years ago, something was lost. It was lost, and it should have stayed that way. But now, a purple unicorn named Twilight Sparkle and her friends are finding pieces of the past that should have remained buried, and they are unaware of the pain it will cause others should they find the truth that was hidden away.  Rating may go up, I am not sure.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own MLP or Portal. **

**Summary: Twilight Sparkle was enjoying her evening when she sees something she shouldn't have. Something that should have been destroyed 7 years ago. She and her friends embark on a journey through Aperture Science, determined to find the truth. But how can they, when it's buried by lies? **

Twilight Sparkle looked outside her window at the rain that cascaded down around the library. The roaring of the wind was deafening, but she allowed it to whip her mane around her face.

Her magenta eyes surveyed the scene outside. Although her house was located on the edge of Ponyville, she could still faintly make out the outline of the town square. Then she saw it. A red light, faintly glowing in the darkness. She squinted to make sure she wasn't dreaming. Nope. Not dreaming.

What was that? Then the beam of red light…moved. Twilight blinked rapidly, and then hurried downstairs. Whatever it was, she didn't have a good feeling about it. Yelling a goodbye to Spike, she cantered out of the library, and began her battle against the howling winds.

Struggling to place one hoof in front of the other, she slowly made her way to the town square. She saw the red light again, as it made its path over the buildings. Suddenly, a voice called out to her. "Who's there?"

Twilight blinked, and looked around. Nopony was there. Suddenly the red light darted over to her chest, and stayed there. Twilight stayed perfectly still, except for the fact her horn was now surrounded by magical energy.

"Hey you! There you are, friend." The voice called again. The voice sent a shiver down Twilight's spine. "I'm different!" Suddenly something hit Twilight. The red light! She saw where it was coming from. A small white machine stood about 10 yards away from her. Three red prongs protruded out of its body, keeping it upright. A small antennae emerged from what she supposed was the main body.

What was most shocking about the strange machine was the red glowing eye in the center of the main body. It was sending out a laser beam of red light, which was currently aimed at Twilight's chest. "I'm different." It called again, this time softer. The rain was still lashing against Twilight's coat, and making soft plip, plip, plip, noises against the machines white coating.

Twilight approached the machine, eyeing it warily. Using her magic, she picked it up, and carried it to an awning. "Thank you." It said, sounding grateful. "Wh…What are you?" Twilight asked, looking at it, curiosity getting the best of her. The red eye looked her up and down. "She's back. Her name was Caroline. They forced her to do it." It said softly, a sad sound lacing it's voice.

Twilight blinked. She walked around the machine, until she spotted a faded logo on it's side. It was almost like a circle. The words "Aperture Laboratories" were still visible, along with some smaller lettering. Leaning closer, Twilight's horn cast some light on the machines side. "Sentry Turret…" she murmured out loud.

"Who's Caroline?" She asked herself, thinking back to the turret's previous statement. "What is Aperture Laboratories anyway?" The machine spoke again, this time more urgently, as it's words were more hurried. "You need to find her! Find Che-" the last words the machine spoke were abruptly cut off.

Twilight stared at the turret in front of her. "Find who?" she asked curiously. The machine did not answer, but the eye started to flicker. Suddenly, another voice became clear. It was obviously feminine, and it did not sound happy. "Well. It seems that the Oracle Turret has finally found someone to speak it's last words to."

Twilight took a step back. "Wh…Who are you?" She asked, not knowing if the disembodied voice could hear her. "Me?" The voice sounded surprised. "Don't play games with me Chell. Although, your voice does sound quite different from the last time we spoke."

"Chell…" Twilight murmured. "I'm not Chell. I am Twilight Sparkle of Equestria." The voice laughed. "Equestria? That's ridiculous. You make it sound as though there's a land run by ponies!" Twilight glared at the machine. "You're kidding me…right?" the voice asked. "No." Twilight responded, peeved. "Now. Who are you?"

"I am the Genetic Lifeform and Disc Operating System." The voice replied snootily. "You may call my GLaDOS. I am the most advanced AI in the world, and I am now apparently speaking to a pony." "Unicorn." Twilight corrected. "I'm so sorry. A unicorn." The voice responded sarcastically.

"You know? I could use some more test subjects…" GLaDOS muttered half to herself. "Test subjects?" Twilight echoed. "Oh yes." GLaDOS purred. "You know, the kind of people who are smart, and can think things through. The kind of people who always make logical decisions. The kind of people like you."

"How do you know so much about me?" Twilight asked, a little scared now. "Your name is Twilight Sparkle, you are a mare, you are Princess Celestia's student, you are the Element of Magic, you are a unicorn with a lavender coat and a dark purple mane with a lighter purple streak running through it along with a pink streak. You are possibly the most skilled unicorn in all of Equestria, you singlehandedly vanquished an Ursa Minor, you have two assistants named Spike and Owlowiscious, and your best friends are Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack, and Princess Luna." GLaDOS stated.

"That doesn't answer my question." Twilight muttered. "I have my ways." GLaDOS replied snootily. Twilight rolled her eyes. "So. What was that…sentry turret thing?" the unicorn asked curiously. "Oh that?" the AI replied, disgust evident in her voice. "That…was the Oracle Turret, also known as the Prophecy Turret. It is a defect, never meant to be made. However, somehow it made it off the assembly line."

"You don't think very highly of it do you?" Twilight remarked. There was silence. Then a small snort came over the line. "I am the most massive collection of wisdom on the planet Earth. And I hate. It. It must be for a reason, don't you think?" Twilight was slightly taken aback by the hatred in the voice of the computer. "O…ok…" she stammered.

"Anyway." GLaDOS continued. "What do you say about my offer to test?" Twilight blinked. "I…don't know. What will my friends think?" She mused. GLaDOS let out another catlike purr. "They could always come and test with you in Aperture you know. I could test them each on their respective skills, earth ponies for their strength, pegasi for their speed, and unicorns for their smarts and problem-solving."

There was a bright flash of light, and suddenly the five other ponies were standing next to Twilight around the turret, underneath the overhang of the building. Looking up so fast she nearly pulled a muscle, Twilight saw five orange ovals open in what seemed to be only the white part of the building. "Thank goodness that your race uses moon dust as a base for some of the paint. Otherwise how would I get you to Aperture?" GLaDOS said, sounding obviously relieved.

The five other ponies looked very confused, and Rarity started to whine. "Twiiiilight! I'm getting my hooves dirty!" There was complete silence from GLaDOS and then she said softly. "Ok. Maybe that one can stay here." Applejack stared at the machine. "Did that thing jus' talk?" she asked. Twilight sighed. This was going to take a lot of explaining. GLaDOS launched into a full-blown explanation of Aperture Science, and what they would be doing.

"Rainbow Dash, you would of course be tested on agility and speed." At this, Rainbow puffed out her chest. "Fluttershy, you would be tested on the effects of treating these two marshmallows with kindness, rather then blowing them up." At this, a picture of two robots nearly twice the size of the turret appeared in the turret's dim optic. "The tall one is P-Body, I call him Orange, and the shorter one is Atlas. I call him Blue. They talk in beeps and clicks, you will be given a translator in order to understand them."

Fluttershy looked very happy that she would not be doing something that required speed. "Pinkie Pie, you will be tested on how far equines can actually jump, and other such stunts you can pull that defy all laws of physics." Pinkie bounced happily. "Applejack, you will be tested on strength and speed." Applejack nodded, looking determined.

"Rarity, you will first redesign the currently vulgar testing outfits. Then you will assist the non-corrupted personality cores with organizing and keeping track of the test scores." Rarity looked positively ecstatic that she did not have to get her hooves dirty.

"Twilight Sparkle..." GLaDOS trailed off. "You shall first come to my chamber where we shall discuss your testing possibilities. It has been…many years since I have had someone with as much potential as you." Twilight felt honored to be praised by the computer, almost as honored as she felt when the Princess praised her.

"Do…do we need to take anything with us?" Fluttershy asked quietly, her voice barely above a whisper. "No." GLaDOS replied. "You shall be well taken care of at the Enrichment Center. Are you ready to depart?" Everypony looked around at each other. Various levels of apprehension and nervousness were reflected in their eyes, but no one backed out. "Yes." Twilight said.

"Then…Hello and welcome to Aperture Science." GLaDOS said, and Twilight could imagine a smile on her face. If she had one that is. "Bu-" Applejack started, only to be cut off as a large blue oval appeared underneath each of them, and they plummeted towards, blackness.

**A/N: There. The first chapter is done! Should I do more, or just abandon it? I really don't know yet. I'm really getting into the groove of writing for GLaDOS, and am looking forward to creating all her snarktastic remarks in the future should I get enough reviews. **

**If I get THREE (3) reviews, I will start writing the next chapter! No sooner, no later. If I do not get three reviews in a month, this story goes bye-bye. Oki doki loki?**

**Thanks for reading.**

**-TF**


	2. Enter: Sarah, Cameron, Jason, and Blitz!

**Disclaimer: I do not own MLP or Portal. **

**Before I start, I want to say something. I know I said I needed three reviews before I could continue. What I DO NOT WANT is the SAME PERSON sending me three reviews. I allow anonymous reviews so that people who don't want to sign up can give me their feedback, not a one sentence line saying that they like it. **

**I'm honored that you want me to continue, so I will, but I just want to get the point across that I want DIFFERENT people to review, not the same person. If you review at the end of every chapter however, that is way different. I don't mind that. Sorry to bother you guys!**

The six friends ended landed in a crumpled heap on the ground. Twilight put a hoof to her head. "W…where are we?" she mumbled, slightly dazed from the fall. "You are in the Enrichment Center." GLaDOS's voice said. Twilight looked around, and saw a camera with a red eye, similar to the turret. "Are you…?" she asked. "I will be monitoring your progress with these, yes."

Twilight looked around at her five friends who were regaining their bearings. Rarity was combing a hoof through her already perfect mane. "I can't do work when my mane is looking like this!" she exclaimed. Applejack sighed, and rolled her eyes. Rainbow Dash immediately lept into the air, and hovered over to the camera. "So." She said. "When can we…see you?"

There was a pause from the supercomputer. "I do not know. I am only allowing Twilight Sparkle to view me at the current time." Rainbow Dash crossed her hooves and heaved a sigh. "Fine." She said huffily. Fluttershy was looking around slowly, a slightly dazed but curious look on her features, while Pinkie Pie was bouncing in place.

"A personality core will guide you to your destination." GLaDOS said. "Twilight, you will come to my chambers. A lift will be arranged for you." Twilight nodded. Suddenly five square panels in the ceiling moved aside. A large sphere hung from a cable. "These are the personality cores." GLaDOS said hastily before anyone could freak out. "Fluttershy, yours is the one with the pink yellow optic, Pinkie Pie, yours is the one with the pink optic, Applejack, orange optic, Rarity, purple, and Rainbow Dash, magenta." The respected cores nodded.

"Please walk to your respected cores. They will lead you to a designated spot in the facility. Please, do not enter any portals you may come across, or touch any gel-like substance you may encounter on the floor. Pegasi, you will be required to keep your wings to yourself at all times, and unicorns may not use magic for anything other than scientific purposes." Everyone nodded.

Fluttershy walked over to her designated core, whose optic widened. "Oh! I was hoping I got you!" the core said happily. "I saw the butterflies on your flank. I love butterflies." Fluttershy smiled at the core. "I'm…Flutter…shy…" she said shyly. "Hello Fluttershy!" the core said, the lower half of it's optic lifting up in what Fluttershy could only guess to be a smile. "I'm the Nature core! You can call me Sarah if you want."

Fluttershy and Sarah started to walk. "So. You're in charge of Atlas and P-body. Lucky duck. They're both really sweet. Word of advice though: Don't call P-body a boy. She'll get very upset." Sarah said. "Oh." Fluttershy said softly. She was feeling comfortable around this core. "Why do they call you the Nature core?" Sarah purred happily. "Thanks for asking! Sometimes back in the old days, humans would bring pets. Like dogs, or even cats sometimes. Occasionally someone would even bring in a bird!"

"A lot of times, people would give each other potted plants. I would be in charge of taking care of the potted plants and the animals. Also, if a animal is injured in a 2-mile radius of our facility, GLaDOS'll send Atlas or P-body to go get it, and then I take care of it!" Sarah finished. "So you're like me!" Fluttershy exclaimed, hopping into the air, and flapping up to Sarah's level. "I took care of a bunch of animals back in Equestria." "That's so cool!" Sarah said happily, glad she had found someone who loved taking care of animals/plants as much as she did.

Pinkie Pie had hopped over to the core with the bright pink optic. "Hiya!" she exclaimed. "My name's Pinkie Pie! What's yours?" "Hey Pinkie! My name's Cameron! I see you have balloons as a cutie mark! Do you like parties? I love parties!" Pinkie bounced excitedly. "Like parties? I LOVE parties!" she cheered. "Come on then!" Cameron said, swiveling to face the direction Sarah and Fluttershy had gone. "We can talk on the way to the testing course!" Pinkie bounced after Cameron. "So! What core are you?" Pinkie asked. "I'm the party core! Duh!" Cameron said, rolling her optic, but seeming in good humor the whole time.

"I helped the Party Escort Bot bake cake, decorate party rooms, and basically organize the whole thing!" The core stated happily. "What did you do back in Equestria?" "My party cannon and I brought parties to everypony! I also help out a nice couple, Mr. and Mrs. Cake, babysit and help them run their bakery, Sugar Cube Corner!" Pinkie Pie said, bouncing along. "Wow!" Cameron said, looking down at the earth pony. "Seems like a lot of fun!" "Oh it is!" Pinkie assured her. Just then, Cameron stopped. "Pinkie!" she called. "Here it is. Test Chamber 01."

Pinkie, who had over hopped, bounced backwards, to get back to Cameron. Cameron was looking in the window, and Pinkie hopped on the window ledge to get a better look. "Whoa." Was her intelligent statement. "That's so cool!" she said happily. The entire testing course was covered in blue gel. "What is that stuff?" Pinkie asked, cocking her head to look at Cameron. 

"That's one of the three conversion gels. It makes you bounce really high." Cameron said, with a strange look in her optic. "Is something wrong?" Pinkie asked. "No!" Cameron said, her optic dilating to a mere point. "Oki Doki Loki!" Pinkie said, then entered the test chamber. Cameron however, did not follow, merely sat, suspended in a state of shock. "She…she hasn't used this since…Chell…" Cameron murmured under her breath, before shaking herself, and following Pinkie into the testing course.

Applejack warily eyed the core hanging in front of her. "Hello!" The core said, in a slightly southern accent. (A/N: Notice I said SLIGHTLY) Applejack blinked at it. "Erm…Hello." "What's your name?" the core asked curiously. "Ah'm Applejack." The orange earth pony said. "What about yers?" "I'm Jason." The core stated, looking at the earth pony, until it's single optic fixated on her cutie mark. "What core are ya?" Applejack asked, curiosity getting the best of her. "I am the Work core." Jason said, rolling his optic. "Come on, I'll tell you about it on the way."

With that, Jason turned and sped along the rail in the ceiling, Applejack trotting along beside him. "Whenever the humans needed something done, or something fixed, they'd always call me. It felt nice, being needed. Ya know what I mean?" Jason asked. Applejack nodded. She had felt similarly after the Discord incident. "So, did they stop? Ya know, needing ya?" The mare asked when Jason had slowed down enough so she could walk. "Well, after GLaDOS was put in charge of the facility, they didn't really need me anymore. See, GLaDOS can control EVERYTHING in the facility, except our minds. But she doesn't force us to do anything really."

"GLaDOS can fix things with a simple twitch of her chassis, or a nod of her helm. She's the most massive collection of wisdom in the history of the world, and probably still is!" Jason paused at this point to examine something on the wall, and Applejack walked over to him. He was peering at a rough drawing of a cube with hearts on it. The words, "I won't let her take it!" were written crudely next to it. Suddenly the panel was whisked away to be replaced with another one, which had no writing or drawings on it. "See?" he said, turning back to Applejack. "GLaDOS did that, even though we're approximately 5.67 miles away from her chamber."

"How big IS this facility?" Applejack pondered aloud. "Oh. It's 23 miles deep, and another 26 miles wide. 22 miles lengthwise as well." Jason said simply, like this was the easiest thing in the world to comprehend. Applejack's jaw dropped. "Well, now GLaDOS at least let's me do my job. She doesn't repair all the things that need to be, so I can do some of them. It's hard to compare to her power though, seeing as she's so strong, and I don't even have a fraction of her power." Jason sad sadly, his optic shutting. "Come on."

"Ah'm sorry."

Jason froze in his tracks. "Wh…what did you say?" he stammered. "I said, ah'm sorry." Applejack repeated, looking confused. "N…no..no one has ever said that to me before…" the core said softly before the bottom of his optic lifted up in a happy expression. Applejack smiled. "Really? Well, ah'm glad I could be the firs' to say it to yer." She said, before placing a hoof of Jason's casing. "Come on, let's go." The orange mare said. Jason nodded his entire body, and sped off, with Applejack galloping behind him.

Rarity looked over at the core in front of her. "Hello." She said rather stiffly. "Greetings." The core said, in a feminine voice. "I see you have gems for a cutie mark." It stated. "Would that imply you like fashion?" Rarity smiled at the core. "I love fashion darling. It's my special talent you see." The core nodded, already warming up to the unicorn mare.

"So, you will be helping me design the new jumpsuits for the test subjects, also for your friends. Then, you will assist me along with Sarah, Cameron, Jason and Blitz record the test results. I daresay, it's rather a shame you're not testing. Your magic would be a valuable asset." The core said. Rarity smiled again. "Dear, I only use my magic for fashion. My friend, Twilight Sparkle is the one with magic as the special talent. I usually leave the art of spells to her. By the way, what may I call you?"

"You may call me Sasha if you wish." Sasha said. "Very well. Sasha, I am Rarity." "Hello Rarity. If you would be so kind as to follow me, we will travel to the workroom where the previous fashionista worked. I must say, her taste in colors was vulgar! I mean, I don't mind the color orange, but this my dear was just…ew." Sasha said, shuddering. "I see I have a lot of work ahead of me." Rarity said, squaring her shoulders. "Let us proceed!" The two headed down a catwalk, talking about the latest fashion, and what they liked and disliked in a design.

Rainbow Dash flew over to the core. "So. You're my core huh?" She said, flying in a full circle around it. "That I am! So you're Rainbow Dash, the one who pulled off the legendary Sonic Rainboom?" Rainbow Dash puffed out her chest. "You're talking to the right mare!" she said. "And I saved Rarity and the Wonderbolts too!" The core issued a series of claps from it's audio processer. "Well done! By the way, I'm Blitz." He said. "Cool name!" Rainbow said.

"I'm the first core to disengage from my management rail, first to talk balk to GLaDOS, first to actually be in production." Blitz said, sounding rather proud. "I am the daredevil core. I am usually sent through all the test chambers that are too dangerous for the humans, and that are too easy for our Co-op testing bots, Atlas and P-body." "A daredevil core huh?" Dash said, sizing up her new friends. "That's probably 20% cooler then any of the other cores around!"

Blitz's optic widened. "Thanks!" He sounded surprised at the praise. The blue pegasus looked around. Everyone had left but Twilight. "Come on Blitz, race to the testing course!" Blitz gave her a short set of directions, and Rainbow nodded. "Ok. Right, left, left, right, left?" "Yup." Blitz stated. "On your marks…get set…GO!" Rainbow yelped, and the two sped off down a deserted corridor, Dash leaving a trail of rainbow behind her.

Twilight, now alone in the room, looked back at the camera waiting for more instruction. "A lift is located to the immediate right of this room." GLaDOS said. "It will take you directly to my chambers where we will discuss your testing possibilities." "Alright." Twilight said, slightly disappointed that she did not receive a core. As if she could read her mind, GLaDOS spoke again. "If you are wondering why you did not get a core, your core is here. With me."

Twilight smiled. She trotted outside of the room to the door, and it opened. She turned to her right, and entered the lift. Watching as the ground disappeared from beneath her hooves, the lift started to descend. The purple unicorn sat back and waited, excited for all the possibilities to come.

**Ok. This time I'm only asking for 1 review. ONE REVIEW PEOPLE! PLEASE DO IT!**

**Thanks in advance,**

**TF**


	3. Twilight, meet Tess and the ASHPD

**[INSERT DISCLAIMER] Blablabla…don't own MLP, Portal, Hasbro, or Lauren Faust….blablabblabbityblablaaaaa…**

Twilight Sparkle was absentmindedly levitating pebbles around the lift, due to extreme boredom. She wondered, not for the first time mind you, what GLaDOS would look like. Would she be big? Or small? Twilight assumed she would be rather large, due to her storing that amount of knowledge. Then again, what did she know about computers.

The lift screeched to a halt, and the doors hissed open. Twilight blinked in the sudden darkness that enveloped her like a blanket. Stepping out of the lift, the unicorn mare lit up her horn with a low-power spell that radiated purple light. Her hooves made a delicate clopping noise as she stepped across what she assumed to be metal, or something close to it.

She trotted swiftly through, her horn illuminating her path. The mare stopped when a smooth female voice cut through the silence. "Greetings Twilight Sparkle. I see you have arrived at my chambers."

Twilight could only nod. She wasn't completely sure if she was nodding in comprehension or giving an answer to the voice. The voice came again, this time, slightly softer then before. "I am going to turn on the lights. Aperture Science wishes to inform you that you may feel shock, awe, or even a strange desire to worship me. Aperture Science would like to inform you that these are all perfectly normal reactions."

Twilight rolled her eyes, but dimmed the light on her horn as the lights slowly brightened. She gasped in amazement as she took in the being in front of her. A silver, black, and yellow figure hung from the ceiling suspended by a mass of black and yellow wires. They connected to an almost circular lower body, which was almost completely black, save for a splotch of red on the side. Two arm-like appendages connected to an almost rectangular "chest" which had a silver casing on the front, similar to armor, as if to protect it from attacks. (Twilight couldn't imagine how anyone could even THINK of attacking this supercomputer however. It was monsterous!)

The head was almost oval in shape, and it had several smaller ovals located in the center of it. A single glowing yellow optic was watching Twilight, and several emotions could be detected within it. For one, nervousness. It was almost as if the magnificent computer was afraid that Twilight would…hate it.

"Wow." She breathed, her eyes wide with amazement as she took the sight in. "You…you're everything I thought you were going to be…and more!" she exclaimed. "I honestly think my friends would love to see you!"

GLaDOS's optic's shrunk slightly. "I…don't think that's a good idea." She stammered, a slight static in between the words "I" and "don't." Twilight tilted her head to the side, confused as to the computers behavior. It was like she had split personalites. One was cocky and confident like Rainbow Dash, the other shy and timid like Fluttershy.

"Why not?" Twilight asked curiously.

"It's just…" GLaDOS paused, swinging her head. "I dislike having others gaze upon me with admiration when there is science to be done." She said finally. _She's lying._ Twilight realized. _She's afraid of something…But what? What could this massive, powerful computer possibly be afraid of?_

"Well." GLaDOS said, eager to change the subject. "Would you like to meet your core?" Twilight nodded, still pondering the computer's strange behavior. Several panels to the right of GLaDOS moved aside, revealing a tunnel.

Twilight squealed in delight as she saw her core for the first time. It was an equine-like shape, and had metal wings that protruded from its sides. Each feather was perfectly molded, and fit snugly together. A spiraling horn protruded from its head, and a mane and tail made of wires adorned it's neck and rear. GLaDOS had even gone so far as to give it a Cutie Mark.

Twilight was looking at it to get a closer look, but suddenly the figure took flight, and soared around the room gracefully. Landing, Twilight saw its and eyes and flank up close for the first time. The figures eyes were a brilliant hazel color, with flecks of light gold scattered in the sea of green and brown. Said figures Cutie Mark was a magenta portal surrounding something that Twilight couldn't make out. It was a circular machine, which had three long prongs on the end. It was white and black, with magenta light running down what seemed to be a black tube.

"This is T.E.S.S., The Equine Support System. She will be your core, as well as helping me to keep your friends in good health. You may call her Tess for short. She is almost as advanced as I am, running on the same DOS system, and can be plugged into my mainframe if something does wrong in this facility."

There was a pause. "Don't get any ideas."

Tess smiled brightly at Twilight. "Hello Twilight Sparkle. I will be your constant companion, and hopefully, friend, throughout your stay during Aperture Science." She said, in a soft voice that was quiet, yet firm.

Twilight beamed at her core, glad to have a friend that knew her way around this seemingly endless facility. "I hope so too!" She said. She held out her hoof. Tess extended her own, and the two shook.

Twilight turned to GLaDOS. "When you summoned me here, you said we'd talk about my abilities and what I could do in the facility. What did you mean by 'my abilities?'" the unicorn mare asked, curious as to what the computer would say.

"You are…let us say…far more powerful than any unicorn that Princess Celestia knows, correct?"

Twilight blushed. "Well, she says that…but I..." she was cut off by GLaDOS intervening.

"Has she ever told you a lie?"

"Well…no…"

"Then what makes you unwilling to believe that she is telling you the truth?"

Twilight froze. GLaDOS did have a point. Princess Celestia had always told her the truth, and she had never lied to Twilight, even if the truth had stung.

"See what I'm getting at?" GLaDOS purred. "You're one of the most powerful creatures in all of the land of Equstria, next to the Princesses even. Princess Luna considers you her best friend, and her best advisor. She wouldn't place that much trust in you if she didn't have confidence in your abilities. Princess Celestia considers you almost like a sister, and she loves you almost as much as she loves Princess Luna. She took you under her wing as a filly, because she recognized that you had talent, and she didn't want that talent to go waste."

"B…but…" Twilight stammered. "I…" she sighed, turning her head away slightly, letting her mane fall into her eyes. "I don't need to have this much talent…" she murmured. "I'm just your average, run-of-the-mill, citizen of Ponyville. But…I love doing magic." She lifted her head up, her eyes narrowed in determination. "What are the tests about?"

GLaDOS seemed to smirk, even if she didn't have a mouth. "They will test your intellectual as well as physical capabilities. You will be challenged with puzzles, and be granted with a device that allows you to make…Portals."

Twilight blinked. She turned to the alicorn, who had remained silent through the entire conversation. "GLaDOS, the testing?" she asked. GLaDOS's optic widened with shock as Twilight's voice rang through the silent room.

Her entire body shuddered, and her optic slid shut. "Tess!" Twilight screeched. "What's happening?" Tess had taken flight, her wings flapping madly as she dodged the debris that was now raining down from the ceiling.

"MOVE!" Tess roared, her voice barely heard over the shaking of the facility. She soared low, positioning herself above Twilight to block anything that would have fallen on top of the purple unicorn mare. They reached the lift, but it was covered in debris. Tess's horn began to glow a magenta color, and with a thunderous boom, the debris disintegrated into little particles of dust.

The lift clattered up, as if beckoning the two to enter. "Get in!" Tess ordered, nudging Twilight into the lift. She veered harshly off to the left as a large piece of metal nearly crushed the machine. A few seconds later, she had disappeared, but she was back soon, two devices clutched in her magical grip. Twilight instantly recognized them as the same devices that where on Tess's cutie mark.

Tess crashed into the lift, landing in a crumpled heap on the floor. The doors of the lift closed behind her, and the lift zoomed away from the shaking GLaDOS, and away from the falling rubble.

"Wha…What happened?" Twilight stammered, her eyes wide with shock and horror at the events that had just transpired. Tess stood up, shaking dust from her metal coat, and shaking out her large wings. She offered one of the devices to Twilight with her magic, and Twilight took it with her own. It was slightly warm to the touch, and Twilight slid her magic inside the device, where it looked like a hoof of some kind was to be inserted.

She felt two triggers, one of the left side of the device, the other on the right. She looked over at Tess, and saw the robot alicorn had taken the device in her magical grip as well, and was already firing bursts of colorful light out of the end of. The colors alternated, the first one was magenta, and the second, a very dark purple.

"Try it. You should get accustomed to the ASHPD before we get out into the Testing Hub." Tess stated.

"ASHPD?" Twilight asked, confused. "What in Equestria does that stand for? It's an acronym…right?"

Tess nodded. "Yes. It stands for 'Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device.' We are going to have to use it solve the test chambers. I'll explain it briefly to you now, seeing as GLaDOS didn't finish. One trigger is for one portal, the other is for the second. Fire them whenever you're ready. They won't open now, because there is no portalable surface."

Twilight nodded, pushing against the left trigger with a tendril of her magical energy. A burst of sky blue light shot out of the end of her device. She pushed the other, and a dark blue one shot out.

"Tess…" she said, once she had gotten the feel for handling the device. "What…happened back there? With GLaDOS and everything? I said 'The testing, GLaDOS,' and she went ballistic."

Tess sighed. "The reason GLaDOS went crazy back there…is because you share striking similarities with two people she once knew."


	4. Is Anyone There?

**[INSERT DISCLAIMER] yaddayaddayadda…don't own MLP, Portal, Hasbro, or Lauren Faust….blablabblabbityblablaaaaa…**

"What?" Twilight gasped. "Bu…but I don't even know them! I haven't even heard of them!"

Tess sighed, and looked at the young unicorn, an expression of sympathy on her face. "The first was a woman named Chell. She was headstrong, determined, and trusted her instincts. She was smart, a great puzzle solver, and ultimately…GLaDOS's best friend, no matter how much GLaDOS may deny it."

"So?" Twilight snapped. "A lot of ponies have those traits. And what's a woman?"

"Oh. I keep forgetting that you haven't heard of them before." Tess smiled slightly, before her horn light up with a soft magenta glow, and the wall opposite Twilight and Tess lit up with a picture. It was human with raven black hair and gray eyes. She was wearing an white tank top and had the sleeves of an orange jumpsuit tied around her waist, but she was still wearing the pant part of them.

"Whoa…" Twilight stared, anger temporarily forgotten. "That's a human?"

Tess smiled and nodded. "The reason GLaDOS was slightly nervous about having you in her chamber was that the human that you're looking at is Chell, and you and Chell have remarkably similar voices."

"Wh..what?" Twilight stammered softly, her anger ebbing away to be replaced with shock. "But we've never even met…" she murmured. She let this new information run through her mind, but she could barely wrap her head around it.

"The second is a woman named Caroline." Tess stated. "Sh..she's actually a part of GLaDOS. She's like a conscience. And…the reason GLaDOS flipped out when you said that sentence was because Caroline said that at the exact same time. It was like she knew what you were going to say."

Just then the lift clattered to a halt, and the alicorn stepped out, stretching her wings. "Come on Twilight, we can talk later tonight." A door was present at the end of the hallway, and it opened with a hiss. A blue barrier blocked their path. Tess however, was unfazed, and walked right up to it.

"What is that?" Twilight asked curiously, eyeing the blue light as if it was an Ursa Minor bearing down on her.

"It's called an Emancipation Grill." Tess said coolly, as she walked through the blue light. She was bathed in it for a moment, and it reflected off the metal surface of her coat. Once on the other side, she turned back to Twilight.

"It's designed to…erm…well…disintegrate things that aren't registered to go through. Luckily, both you and I are registered to go through, and so are the ASHPDs, so we don't have to worry about them until we come across them in a test chamber."

Twilight's eye twitched slightly, as she glared at the blue barrier that seemed to shimmer tauntingly at her. "Disintegrate?" she repeated, her tail flicking anxiously. Tess nodded in confirmation. "Great…" Twilight muttered. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and galloped through the grill. A slightly strange, but pleasant, tingling sensation washed over her, and she opened her eyes in relief when she realized she wasn't disintegrating.

"I'M ALIVE!" She shrieked, but a hoof quickly covered her mouth. It was Tess. Twilight looked at her curiously. "Mmmph?" She said intelligently.

"Quiet." Tess hissed. "Something's amiss, and I don't know what." She quickly uncovered Twilight's mouth, then spread her metal wings. She jumped into the air, and dipped down, but started flapping her wings, and quickly regained altitude. Suddenly, several soft voices rang out.

"Hello?"

"I see you."

"There you are."

Tess gasped, and flew back, diving down towards Twilight, barely avoiding Sonic Rainboom speeds.

"Dispensing Product."

Suddenly there was burst of noise, and Tess screamed. She fell out of the air, one of her wings having several holes shot in it. Righting herself, the white alicorn used her magic to slow her descent, and create a magical bubble around her to protect her when she finally landed.

"Tess!" Twilight yelled, and she ran towards the alicorn. "What's wrong?" The alicorn looked up from where she was assessing the damage done to her left wing. Her eyes were burning with embarrassment and shame.

"I should have known…" she murmured under her breath. "Aperture Science Sentry Turrets, possibly the nastiest thing in this entire facility." Tess sighed, extending and closing her wing. "I think THIS wing is going to be out of commission for a while, at least until I find the necessary parts to fix it.

"But…I've met one before…It tried to warn me about something…" Twilight stammered. "It didn't seem…n…nasty…" Tess sighed, and looked back up to the ledge that housed the Sentry Turrets.

"That wasn't a proper Turret." Tess said. "See, that was the Oracle Turret, a strange defect in the Turret Production lines. A malfunction caused it to escape incineration, and now for some odd reason, it is allowed to speak in riddles. These riddles are supposed to help you, but you are only the third person to see it."

"Who where the others?" Twilight asked curiously.

"GLaDOS and…Chell…" Tess said, then winced as if saying the second name was bad luck. "Come on, we should probably get to testing. I want to at least complete two test chambers before dinner."

Tess tightened her grip on her Portal Gun, and motioned for Twilight to watch. Some blue gel-like substance was dripping from a tube, and there was a white platform underneath it. Tess shot a magenta portal underneath it, and a dark purple portal at a white wall high above where three red lasers were located. The gel shot through the magenta portal, and out the purple portal, landing on the laser's origins.

"Nononononono!"

Gunfire was heard, and then something clattered to the floor in front of Tess, then promptly exploded. Tess quickly cast a shield to block the debris bouncing in all directions, and smiled at Twilight. "SEE?" she yelled over the noise. "THINKING. WITH. PORTALS. ALWAYS A GOOD IDEA."

Twilight nodded, and followed Tess as the latter trotted down the hallway. They passed through yet another door, and another Emancipation Grill, before they reached the "Cooperation Testing Iniative."

Unconsciously, Twilight tightened her magical hold on the Portal Gun. Just then, several beeps and clicks emanated from down another hallway. Two tall robots appeared, and they seemed to be having some sort of argument with one another. One robot was tall and thin, with a glowing orange optic, the other shorter and stockier, with a bright blue optic.

"Who are they?" Twilight asked, instinctively stepping behind Tess. They looked like they could be formidable opponents in battle, and Twilight sincerely hoped that wasn't what they where doing. Then she noticed that both of them had a Portal Gun fastened to their arm.

Tess laughed softly. "No need to be afraid Twilight. These are the Co-op Testing Robots, Atlas and P-body." Raising her voice so she could be heard across the room, she called out, "Atlas! P-body! Hi you guys!"

The two robots immediately ceased their chatter, and looked up so fast that Twilight was worried they would pull a muscle. (Then she realized they didn't have muscles.) The one with the orange optic let out an excited shriek, and the one with the blue optic seemed to smile brightly.

"Atlas is the one with the blue optic, and P-body has the orange optic." Tess explained to Twilight, who seemed confused. "And Atlas is a boy, while P-body is a girl."

Twilight studied the pair, who seemed to be playing rock-paper-scissors…except…with their hands? Usually when ponies played, they nudged forward the object they wanted to select. It seemed Atlas had lost the match, and he whistled sadly.

Just then, a familiar voice was heard coming from the same hallway that Atlas and P-body had come from. "Are you two arguing again? I mean…if you don't mind me asking…" came a timid, female voice.

"Fluttershy!" Twilight cried, eager to see her Pegasus friend. So far, she hadn't seen any other ponies in the facility, unless you counted Tess, and Twilight didn't think that really counted. There was an excited gasp from the hallway.

"Oh my gosh! Twilight? Is that you?" Fluttershy cried. (Softly of course.) The pink-maned Pegasus came into view and she had a look of glee on her face. She was hovering in the air, and this was the first time Twilight had actually seen her fly instead of walk. Normally she was too self-concious about her flying abilities, but ever since the "Hurricane Fluttershy" incicdent, she had become much better, but she still preferred walking.

"It is you Twilight!" Fluttershy exclaimed happily, flying over to her friend, and embracing her. "I missed you!"

"I missed you too Fluttershy!" Twilight exclaimed. She looked over Fluttershy's shoulder to see Atlas and P-body looking around the Hub, before P-body began pointing excitedly to Atlas about something. Atlas seemed to whistle his agreement, and P-body shot a yellow portal at a platform on the ceiling, and a red-orange one the ground directly beneath it.

(A/N: This is MY version of the Co-op Testing Hub.)

Atlas then shot a blue portal at a tilted platform that was located several hundred feet away from the other two portals, and a purple portal at a tilted platform high in the air. Atlas took a deep breath and jumped into the two portals from where he stood, which was high above them. Soon, he was just a blur of color. P-body then cautiously aimed her Portal gun at a tilted platform directly opposite the tilted platform accodating Atlas' blue portal. She shot the yellow portal at the platform, and Atlas was flung out of the yellow portal, into the blue portal he had placed earlier, and then out of the purple one.

Twilight's head spun just from watching. Atlas had landed near to where Tess stood, and quickly replaced all of P-body's portals with his own. P-body did the same to his, and the "I believe I can fly" process began again. Once the two robots were on the ground, they quickly high-fived each other, and then rushed over to embrace Tess.

They chattered excitedly to her, and she responded eagerly. "What are they saying?" Twilight asked curiously. Fluttershy finally tore herself away from her friends grasp.

"Well, Sarah, my core, gave me two translators, so I can give one to you if you'd like…" the Pegasus suggested, digging into a small pouch tied around her neck. She pulled out a small device that had several blinking lights, and the words 'Aperture Science Translator' written across the top with what Twilight assumed to be the Aperture Science logo.

Fluttershy placed it on Twilight's forehead, and it changed color so it matched her exact coat color. Suddenly, she could clearly hear Atlas and P-body talking.

"…serious? Did GLaDOS really lose it?" P-body asked worridly, clasping her hands in front of her. "What if she doesn't reboot soon? We'll have to find another core to replace her in the mainframe!"

Tess smiled, but Twilight could see that the smile was slightly forced. "Don't worry P-body, I'm sure she'll be fine. I know she will. She's been through worse then this before…" Tess trailed off, and Twilight wondered what she meant, and why she wasn't telling Atlas and P-body know that she could be plugged into the mainframe. Whatever the reason, Twilight wasn't going to pry.

Atlas chose this moment to speak up. "Tess...what if she loses control over the Turret Production Lines? Or the Neurotoxin? We're good, but even with the your magic and our skills, we can't fight that many. We'd have to shut it down…"

Tess gasped. "Atlas…y…you..." her eyes where wide with shock.

Atlas' optic narrowed to a pinprick. "Oh…the last person to…" he broke off.

"To do that…" P-body continued, looking worried.

"Was Chell." Tess finished. "And Wheatley." She sighed. "Well…we can't go through the test chambers without old memories coming back to haunt us. But, I seriously doubt we're going to need to do that. GLaDOS is the most powerful computer in the world…remember?"

Atlas and P-body looked at each other and nodded. Twilight was thoroughly confused. "Wait. What?" she asked. Tess turned to Fluttershy and Twilight, a sad look on her face.

"Fluttershy, Atlas, P-body, gather up everypony else. Make sure to also get the cores as well." The three nodded, and flew/portaled back to the other tunnel. Tess turned to Twilight. "Let's get to testing, and I'll explain everything over dinner."

Several test chambers later, and Twilight was exhausted. Her muscles ached, and her entire body was sore. She followed behind Tess wearily as the alicorn trotted to the dining hall where every one else was already assembled; pony, robot, or core.

Suddenly something fell out of a shaft directly in front of them. Twilight screamed, and ducked behind Tess, her Portal Gun aimed at whatever IT was. Tess was completely still. "No…no…it can't be…"

"What is it?" Twilight exclaimed, afraid it was some kind of mutated Sentry Turret. When she finally summoned up the courage to peer around Tess' shoulder, all she saw was a cube. A cube with hearts on it.

A scorched, blackened, incinerated, Weighted Companion Cube.

**A/N: Dun dun DUN. I know most of you are all like, 'Two chapter in one day? What sorcery is this?' Well, I know I haven't updated in a while, so I wanted to make up for it. Plus, I'm home sick, so that makes life easier. **

**Couple things I want to talk about. **

**Tess's 'magic.' Tess uses a magic that functions on science alone. She uses magnetic pull to lift things up, and turret laser fire to destroy things. She may also have more spells, but those are for later!**

**Yes, there will be more GLaDOS.**

**No, I don't know if there is going to be any Wheatley. Sure I may mention him a couple times, but I'm not sure if I'm actually going to incorporate him into the story yet. He's really hard to write. **

**Caroline. Yes, the quote that make GLaDOS go crazy is an actual quote, just substitute "GLaDOS" for "Sir." **


	5. GLaDOS's Conscience

**Before we start, I want to do two things. One: Apologize. Two: Thank my new editor**_**, **_SuperCompanioncube!_**!**_** Thank you! :D**

Tess stood frozen, her optics wide with shock and horror. Twilight hovered uncertainly next to her, not sure what was wrong, or how to comfort her new robotic equine friend.

"Um…Tess?" Twilight asked quietly. "What's wrong?"

Tess stood still, not moving, until she shot off, hooves barely touching the ground, shaking her head furiously. Twilight stood in her wake, not sure what had just happened. Immediately thereafter Twilight ran following the alicorn, she began to sprint to keep up with the silver pony.

After several minutes, she saw the alicorn in a dark room, and skidded to a halt, her hooves kicking up dust in the old facility. Twilight trotted over to Tess, who had her eyes fixed on something the purple unicorn could not see. Illuminating her horn, the mare gasped in shock.

Murals covered the walls, and a picture of a young woman in orange clothes with brown hair and her eyes closed occupied the largest one. "Wh…who?" Twilight stammered, confused, and slightly scared.

Tess raised her head, her optics filled with sorrow, and another emotion that Twilight could not completely identify. "Her name was Chell…" Tess said, her robotic voice low. "She…she was a test subject here."

Twilight nudged the alicorn, and helped her to her feet. "If you explain, it should be to everypony…erm…everyone." Tess nodded stiffly, and took a couple wobbling steps. Apparently, her wiring was still slightly off.

"Lean on me." Twilight said softly, offering a shoulder to the silvery/white alicorn.

"I…I…" Tess stammered. Refusing the help, she took a step, only to stumble, and look up into the caring eyes of the purple unicorn mare. Tess smiled slightly, and leaned slightly on Twilight's warm shoulder.

They soon arrived at the 'dining hall', where everyone else, pony and 'bot alike was waiting, hooves crossed, or optics dimmed. There was a simultaneous gasp from everyone in the room, and Fluttershy screamed softly,

"Oh my goodness!" she exclaimed softly, her eyes wide with horror. She rushed over to the beat-up-two. Tess still bore wounds from the sentry turret encounter, and Twilight had a couple cuts from rushing around the facility, searching for Tess.

"What happened? And who the hay is that?" Applejack exclaimed, a slightly hostile tone entering her voice, as she looked upon the two, but mostly worry shone through in her tone.

"It…It's not important." Twilight stated, stammering slightly. Applejack eyed her suspiciously, but let the subject drop. "This is my core, Tess." She said, raising her voice so the rest of the room could hear.

Tess spread her one good wing, apparently wanting to take to the air. Letting out a soft growl of frustration, she trotted to the front of the room, and raised her head. "Sarah, Cameron, Jason, Blitz, Sasha, Atlas and P-body…what I am going to say…you may not approve of me saying. It may bring up bad memories for you two…" she looked comfortingly at the two Testing Constructs.

The rest of the ponies in the room exchanged uncertain glances, not sure what was about to be revealed.

"The rest of you weren't even online when this event happened, however, you were downloaded with limited knowledge upon your activation." Tess continued, her voice gaining confidence with every passing moment.

"Now, as you all know GLaDOS, the Genetic Life-form and Disc Operating System, and the 'ruler' of our facility, is malfunctioning. The reasoning behind this malfunction…well…I have several suspicions, but one is more prominent than any others." Tess stopped here, looking at Twilight as if to ask for her permission.

Twilight smiled, and nodded her head ever so slightly.

"When…when Twilight met me, GLaDOS had not heard her speak in person. She had only heard her speak through the static-ridden security camera audio system. When Twilight finally spoke…even I was shocked. It sounded just like a woman who used to reside here, that was a huge part of GLaDOS's past."

A deathly silence had fallen over the room, and the only sounds were the soft breathing of everypony in the room, and the purr of machinery working behind the silver-white exterior or the cores, and Atlas and P-body.

"GLaDOS had become more distant in the conversation, prompting Twilight to eventually say, 'GLaDOS, the testing?' and then GLaDOS's mainframe shut down."

"B…but…_why?_" Rarity questioned.

Tess looked away. "No one knows for sure what causes GLaDOS's split personalities. However, there are many hypotheses…We all suspect that a woman named Caroline, assistant of the owner of this facility was forced into GLaDOS's body…she was meant to _be_ the computer. However, GLaDOS's personality was stronger, and easily overpowered the timid and eager-to-please Caroline."

Applejack blinked.

"So what yer sayin', is that this woman…was forced into a computer?" she asked, her emerald eyes betraying her confusion and worry for the mysterious woman.

"Yes. Caroline now acts like a conscience to GLaDOS, a voice that rarely pipes up, but when it does, it cannot be ignored. Twilight and Caroline both said, 'GLaDOS, the testing?' at the exact same time. For a moment, GLaDOS could not discern reality from her memories, and that was what caused her processer to overload." Tess finished, looking around at the various expressions worn by the ponies and cores.

"So….what can we do about it?" Rainbow Dash asked, flapping her wings, apparently anxious to kick some butt.

"That's just the thing…" Tess said, trailing off, her eyes downcast. P-body walked over, and draped her arm over the robotic alicorn. She gave a sad chirp, and patted Tess's back. Twilight felt a strange twinge of jealousy as she watched Tess smile softly, and give a small purr back.

"I saw…I saw something on the way here, that I…that I didn't mention. I was afraid that it was going to bring back painful memories and bring new problems to our newfound friends." Tess waved a wing in turn at Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and then, finally, Twilight Sparkle.

Atlas blinked his optic, catching on first, however, he didn't make any move to stop Tess from continuing her speech.

"It was a Companion Cube. Blackened, scorched, and beaten up." Tess said, wincing internally as she heard the gasps that resounded through the silent room. She looked up from where she was staring at her suddenly very interesting hooves, to see all the cores plus Atlas and P-body staring at her with expressions of pure shock.

Pinkie Pie blinked. "What happened to it?" she asked, her eyes wide with a mix of curiosity and uncharacteristic worry.

There was silence from Tess, and she looked at each of the cores in turn, fixing them with a cold look from her hazel optics. Turning back to Pinkie Pie, and the others, she spoke, but she looked at Twilight.

"It was Chell's."

**Sorry! I know it's short, but I just wanted to update something even if it's only like, half a chapter. Again, I just wanted to thank my editor: SuperCompanioncube! Thank you!**

**- Twilit Feline**


	6. Malfunction

"It was Chell's."

Silence hung over the room like a shroud.

"I am afraid I do not see the significance in this discovery." Rarity finally spoke up, confusion ebbing into her voice.

Twilight trotted over to her fashion conscious friend, and spoke softly. "It means that Chell's back."

Rarity's blue eyes widened in shock, and she sat down heavily. "Oh." She stated. "Oh…oh."

Rainbow Dash landed on the ground, folding her wings, and shifting from hoof to hoof. "So…do we…find her?" The cyan Pegasus asked, looking at her core in a mixture of confusion and excitement to finally get going.

P-body chirped rapidly, and Fluttershy nodded in understanding. "P-body says that…Chell may be…may be…scared, or hurt…" The yellow pony whispered in her normally shy tone.

"Ah don't understand. Why did she come back?" Applejack asked, tilting her head to the side. "What happened to Chell?"

Tess sighed again. "She…I…I don't want to force information onto you, but she was locked in stasis for over 300 years." Seeing the confused looks on Rainbow, AJ, Rarity, and Fluttershy's faces, she turned to Twilight, expecting the purple unicorn to give the dictionary definition, however, it was Pinkie Pie who spoke.

"It's like really long nap-time!" she exclaimed, her mane bouncing as she hopped up and down, glad she could contribute to the conversation. Everyone stared at her.

"And you know this…how?" Twilight asked.

Pinkie grinned. "A dictionary landed on my face when Dashie crashed into the ladder during the Poison Joke incident!"

"Okay then…" Twilight struggled for words, then turned back to Tess.

"Long story short, Chell was betrayed by the only friend she had ever had, and was forced to go through a series of grueling tests, fighting for her life. She finally reached – " Tess suddenly stopped short, her voice dying in her mechanical throat.

Her joints locked up, and her optics dimmed. The electricity flowing from her mane and tail immediately died down, letting the wires fall limply to her side. Similar fates had befallen Atlas, P-body, Blaze, Sarah, and the other cores.

Atlas was the last one to deactivate, managing to chirp out a few strangled cries.

Fluttershy immediately went into "Oh you did NOT just lock down on me!" mode, and flew over to P-body, waving her hoof in front of the dim orange optic. "P-body…" she crooned. "Come on…wake up…"

Twilight rushed over to Tess, and the other ponies to their respected cores. After a swift examination of the alicorn, she spread out a limp wing, and let it fall. Tess was completely still, and not even the reassuring mechanical purr was heard beneath her metal armor.

A security camera swiveled, watching them, red eye glaring harshly in the otherwise dim room. A scarlet light blinked on the top of the camera, signaling it was working.

A male voice blared through hidden speakers, "All Aperture Science technology has been temporarily shut down due to…t…" The voice was cut off by a blast of static, causing the mares to wince, and cover their ears.

"Well okay then." Twilight stated calmly, much more calmly then she felt. "At least we know the AI's are down."

Rarity began to panic. "This is THE. WORST. POSSILBE. THING." She exclaimed in horror, her pupils dilating. When she got no response, she meekly waved her hoof in the air. "What? I honestly mean in this time!"

"Rarity's right." Applejack stated, surprising them all with her agreement with the unicorn mare. "They were the only ones who knew the facility like the back of there hoof…relatively speaking."

The room suddenly went dark, and a loud crash was heard. Twilight gasped, looking around for the source of the noise, even though she couldn't see. There was a muffled grunt, and suddenly an apology.

"Sorry…" Rainbow's voice. "Can't fly with no light."

Twilight lit up her horn with a soft pulse of magical energy, smiling to herself as it cast light across the entire room. She saw Fluttershy still bending over P-body, and suddenly remembered Atlas' strangled cry. "Did he say something to you Fluttershy?" the unicorn asked.

Fluttershy squeaked, alarmed at the sudden noise. "Y…yes…" she stammered. "H…he…said….'G….get to…Chell.'" She whispered, and then dove under P-body, shaking.

Twilight moved to the door, which was sealed shut. "Applejack? Care to do the honors?" she asked, illuminating her horn more so that the earth pony could see.

Applejack grinned, and trotted over. She turned around, and brought her hind legs smashing down on the metal door. Several bangs later, and the door was beginning to give way from the farm ponies powerful kicks. One especially powerful smash later, and the door was on the ground.

Pinkie was the first out, using her Pinkie Sense to make sure there was no danger. "Nope!" she exclaimed happily, bouncing out. "We're good." She continued to bounce down the catwalk, leaving Twilight and the rest of the ponies to follow, trotting after the swiftly moving party pony.

Twilight shuddered as they moved down the hallway, their shadows looking evil and menacing in the soft light cast by her horn. Suddenly, a speaker crackled to life, scaring her.

"You are now entering Old Aperture, please en – " the speaker once again cut off, allowing a burst of static to take its place.

As they continued down the hallway, the reached a broken lift shaft.

"I am most certainly NOT going in there!" Rarity exclaimed, backing away.

Pinkie's mane suddenly deflated with a strange noise, causing everypony to look at the new Pinkamena Diana Pie. "It's dangerous…" Pinkamena murmured, stepping backwards.

Suddenly a speaker crackled to life, scaring Twilight. A man's voice was heard speaking. "The lab boys gave me a list of what to do should something ever crash from outer space. Do not let a thing crash from outer space. Cave Johnson out."

Twilight blinked. Cave Johnson? Who in the hay was that? And what was he saying about outer space?

Another speaker crackled, and the first male voice emanated from it. "Warning: Aperture Science technology detected."

"Your point?" Rainbow glared at the speaker.

As if he had heard her, the speaker spoke again, "Aperture technology designation: Intelligence Dampening Sphere – Wheatley."

Twilight froze, her blood having turned to ice.

"My Celestia…" She gasped, the light on her horn suddenly going out.

Cries of 'Hey!' brought her out of her stupor.

"What in the hay Twi?" Applejack exclaimed angrily as they sat in the dark.

Twilight immediately lit her horn, and the others got a glimpse of the look of panic and dawning comprehension on her face.

"I hate that look." Rainbow stated, crossing her forehooves.

"What is it Twilight?" Fluttershy whispered.

"It's all becoming clear to me now…" the purple unicorn whispered. "We don't have much time." She hissed, turning to her friends.

Pinkamena was briefly reminded of Twilight from when she had been tardy for Princess Celestia, except that Twilight's mane and tail were completely flat.

The announcer spoke again, "Intelligence Dampening Sphere entering Earth's atmosphere. Approxmated arrival time – 15 minutes."

Twilight stomped her hoof, and turned to her friends. "If you want to even have a chance to live, you're going to come with me. If you want to die a painful death, you can stay here." With that, she turned and leaped into the lift, slowing her descent slightly with a levitation spell.

Left in the dark, the remaining five sat, completely stunned.

"I trust Twilight." Rainbow Dash said calmly. Trotting over to the darkened lift, illuminated by only the glow of the security cameras, she jumped in with a "GERONIPONY!"

There were a few seconds of silence, and then a "Oh hi Twilight."

"I'm going with Rainbow and Twilight…" Fluttershy whispered. "She's never let us down before." She trotted into the lift bravely, and closed her eyes, beginning to fall. She flapped her wings ferociously, slowing her descent until she caught up with Twilight and Rainbow.

Pinkamena's mane puffed up again, and she jumped into the lift with a, "Twilightcatchme!" There were a few seconds of silence, and then Pinkie spoke again, her voice echoing from far down the lift tunnel. "Come on Rarity, Applejack! It's fun!"

"I trust Twilight." Applejack said, trotting over to the edge of the lift. She gulped, then jumped in with a loud, "YAHOOOO!"

Rarity was left in the dark. "Girls? _Girls!_" she shrieked. "Well Rarity, you have to do it." She walked slowly (and dramatically) to the lift edge, and then walked off into the abyss below.

As Rarity fell, she screamed loudly. Soon she saw three soft purple lights. She crossed her forehooves and screamed, "TWILIGHT! CATCHMEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

She suddenly realized that a pleasant tingling sensation was surrounding her, and looked around to see she was suspended by the soft glow of Twilight's magic.

"Hiya Rarity!" Pinkie exclaimed. "Isn't this fun? Ooo! It's almost as fun as the time I said, 'Kiwi, kiwi, kiwi!' to Applejack!"

There was a groan from below Rarity, and she looked below her to see the familiar hat of Applejack. "Please Pinkie, don't remind meh."

Suddenly, the lift light up with light, causing everypony to shield their eyes.

"Ouch!" Rainbow complained. "Who turned on the sun?"

Twilight felt her hooves touch the ground, and she let everypony else drop to the ground, before she released her magical grip on them. Gasping for breath, she let her magic recharge.

Hearing a soft, "Oh my…" from Fluttershy, she looked up to see that they were moving. They were on a conveyer belt, and it was leading them straight into an incinerator.

Wasting no time, Twilight grabbed everypony with her magic again, and thrust them and herself off to the side, onto a small platform, before letting them drop to the ground.

"Thanks Twi." Applejack gasped, heart pounding. Silence settled over the group only to be broken by a soft voice.

_"I'm different."_


End file.
